Life Is Too Short To Worry

- Shiv Chopra

I have been living my life wearing a mask. I am someone different on the outside then on the inside. The reason for such deceit is simple: I can’t let my family or my friends or my colleagues know my sexuality. I am an Indian guy living in America It was here that I first discovered my sexuality. It is also here that I faced depression for the first time. For someone as young as I was, it wasn’t a good experience. The biggest problem that I faced was this: I simply couldn’t tell my parents that I am gay and that they should accept me for who I am. They wouldn’t accept it. Even I tried to tell myself, on many occasions, that I am not gay, I am probably just confused, but at the end of the day I am just who I am. They have grown up in a conservative community in India and they had never even imagined the possibility that their child could be gay.

We Are Here For You

- Avantika Mohan ​While the pedals of my old bike rattled, while the generator of my light buzzed loudly, I cycled over an asphalt river towards my home. The soft glow of my headlight only illuminated a small circle right in front of me, one that was interrupted by the bright white markings on the road. I only looked up. The road cut through spacious meadows and created numerous rectangles, as if I cycled on the black lines of a Mondrian painting. My light was the only one for as far as I could see. I was still looking up, in awe of the spectacle drawn on the night sky, right above me. I saw millions of stars forming mythical heroes and exotic animals. A blur, our Milky Way, stretching out far beyond the horizon. Each time I looked up and saw this near magical scenery, I felt part of something larger than life.

#CallMeCaitlyn

- Paige Busbridge

In today's society, people are often confused by the LGBT+ community and sometimes don't know how to react to them…just because they are “different”. The public response to transgender people is one of the most up and coming issues of our generation. It isn't something that is often talked about; something that is skipped over during sex education. Sex education shouldn't just be about periods, body parts and condoms- it should be about puberty and the changes that follow, both mental and physical. . We need to learn more about being LGBT+ to truly be able to give rise to a more inclusive society that fosters differences.​Caitlyn Jenner is an amazing example and role model for the LGBT+ community as well as young people everywhere.

Wonder Woman

- Rishane Dassanayake & Kushali Fernando

When Wonder Woman first appeared in comics in All-Star comics #8, she was a supporting character, receiving only 8 pages dedicated to her story with the likes of comic book titans such as Batman and Superman. Today, she has become a symbol of progress for almost every social issue in the past century.Diana Prince, the Wonder Woman, was the brainchild of William Marston - a renowned psychologist and strangely enough, an avid bondage enthusiast. The character was inspired by his wife and mistress, both of whom were suffragettes. As a result, most of Marston’s artwork consisted of a curious blend of the psychosexual and the revolutionary with Wonder Woman frequently being depicted as being tied up or bound in some way on the cover page, but eventually breaking free of her shackles without needing the help of another, more powerful, male superhero. Therefore, not only did she destroy her physical restraints but also the social restraints that confined women at the time - the idea that a woman in trouble was a ‘damsel in distress’ and thus needed an all-powerful male figure to rescue them. She was initially however written to be the Justice League’s secretary - a depiction of women that modern-day feminists would surely turn their noses up at. This is where Wonder Woman’s greatness becomes truly evident. As the times progressed, so did Wonder Woman.

Women In Sport, Where's the Hype?

- Isuru Abeysekara​ ​In lieu of the Women’s Cricket World Cup, the sexism that exists in the sporting arena was really brought to light, by the very fact that very few people knew it was happening, and even fewer people cared it was happening, but a large majority patronized its very existence.The Suffragettes strove to win over voting rights for women, the Fat Underground movement campaigned against body shaming and the endless struggle women face is an arduous and difficult one; whilst some obstacles continuously evolve, others remain unchanged.

In Singapore: Sexual Education or Moral Education?

- Rennes Lee

​I had always found Singapore’s sexual education to be severely lacking but I couldn’t put a finger on why that was the case. Since it has been more than 5 years since I have been taught sexual education in a public school, it hasn’t really crossed my mind, until now. ​Recently, I was at a book fair and I saw a sex education book title “WTF Candid Conversations about Sex”, published by wtfzine.sg. I picked it up as a joke to show my friend but it turned out to be extremely informative and educational. This book opened my eyes to understanding about contraception and I was honestly really embarrassed that I never knew about what contraception does or the places that women can go for checkups for important health issues like cervical cancer.

Summer Body

- Romana De Silva (Sri Lanka)

We’ve transitioned into a society where similes are used to insult rather than flatter. ‘Like a man’ is used in the same derogatory way as ‘like a girl’ is, so now we’re told not be like girls because they’re weak but if we look like a man, who is supposedly the epitome of all that is good in the world, that’s bad too. The problem of body shaming has evolved over years, and is as matter of fact not about gender dynamics or which sex is better, but it’s about words, mostly on social media. ​

Men Don't Cry

- Meera Sivasubramaniam

​We all see the media pumping out the perfect image of a vulnerable victim. Envisioning a victim is simple, the generic majority who was raised watching television dramas can picture a woman with a constellation of purple bruises on her legs. But why does gender-based violence focus mainly on battered women, most of us do not even consider the possibility that it could be a man being the sufferer. Do men also not equate as having a gender? We just talk about women being oppressed on an endless loop, but what about those silent voices buried under the guise of false machismo. We just tune out and focus our attention on the woman lying on the ground screaming that her husband violated her body.

Heroes

- Anonymous​The sound of fanfare echoed as the pixels on the television screen moved. An image of a soldier smiled as he saluted to the crowd. My friend watched with awe and remarked how brave this man was. The soldiers should be receiving medals every day was what she said. The synchronised nod of approval from the politicians on screen was what the camera angle focused on for ten minutes. All I did was watch, and listen, numb. Watch the soldiers receiving medals, listen to the long speeches of politicians singing praises. These very same politicians refused to allow the UN High Commission conduct an enquiry against the war crimes committed during the span of the civil war which ripped a country apart.

Cat Calling

-Vipulesh Thiyagarajah

Lets play a little game. Imagine yourself standing alone in a train. Your fingers wrapped around the grab-handle as you stare into the distance. The door slides open and breaks the peaceful silence. A manly figure walks in and stands behind you. You turn swiftly in an attempt to identify the stranger but notice his lingering eyes move up and down. You turn back around hastily and prance forward. Your heart accelerates and surges of adrenalin pulses through your veins. A drop of frosty sweat trails down your cheek and falls on the worn out rubber mat. Suddenly his silhouette blankets the drop of sweat, as his humid breath blots your neck. You sense him leaning towards you, inch by inch. “Sexy ass,” he whispers in your ear followed by a high pitched whistle.You feel nauseous, mortified, violated. Yet there’s nothing you can do. So you stand there with tears in your eye. Fighting through each minute of that excruciating ride…​​

Being A Feminist Is An Inconvenient Thing

-Demi Suraweera

He speaks of having the nudes of a girl who he met online, He is proud,I smile and decide to let it pass, I don't want to make a scene, My heart asks me "don't you want to say anything?" I act indifferent to the voice in my head. ​She speaks of the girl who was raped last night,Says she deserves it because she was wearing something short, My face is blank with disbelief,I show no emotion because I don't want to make a scene,My heart asks me "don't you want to say anything?" I act indifferent to the voice in my head. ​

Control

- Devika Bhatia ​Surviving in a predominantly hetero-normative environment, the first thing that is usually fed to us is to control our urges, particularly those which address the questions related to sex, gender, orientation, and the like. The direct result that comes out of this is that adolescents end up feeling a sense of perplexing angst at not having being able to comprehend, name, or describe the feelings that might arise inside them through the experiences that they live through. This poem deliberates the perennial thirst for answers and the freedom to feel and express oneself -- We are constantly holding ourselves back, confined by the high walls of stereotypes and gender expectations that leave chain marks on our limbs for the remainder of our lives.

I Will Always Be A Part Of My Family

- Launie ​Dear everyone, My name is Launie and I am from France. I identify as a lesbian and I met my wife on the 21st of January in 2013. I came out to my mother as a lesbian woman about four years ago. My father was the second person I told because at first I was not sure how to exactly come out to him. I come from a Latino family, my mother is Spanish and Arabic and my father is Portuguese and Brazilian. My mother was more accepting when I told her than my father.My father firmly believes in the holy virgin and her son Jesus Christ and thus he has some very traditional convictions.

You Are A Girl

-Malak Zahir

He got up with a gasp-​eyes immediately searching for light,hands fumbling toward his tear stained cheeks.he was so close-so close drowning.so close to leaving.so close to saying goodbye.but he wakes up every time.(he thought of the whole thing as a sick joke really)he wakes up to four pink walls-fairy lights and glitter dust.wakes up to long silky hair-and curves and curves and curves and piercing knife like wordsscreaming;​

Born A Girl: Blessing or Curse?

-Demi Suraweera​I’ve always thought that being born a girl was the best thing ever! New dresses, extra care from your relatives, the A-grade treatment from everyone. That was, until I turned 12. I was old enough to understand everything that happened around me, and that was when I realized that everything I thought of being a girl was the sweet icing to a bitter and burnt cake. It first started from my mother buying me less-revealing clothes; more trousers, knee-length shorts, longer dresses and what not. Then my father and mother and other relatives started paying more attention to me. Where I was going, who I was talking to, especially the guys I associated and how I acted. I'm 16 now, 4 years later I'm still treated like this.